Agbioscience

Latest Episodes:

373. Libby Fritz recaps June, the AgriNovus CEO search, Velocity Demo Day + what's ahead Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

The month of June has passed -- and it was a busy one! AgriNovus Vice President, Libby Fritz, joins Cayla Chiddister in the studio to talk through a number of exciting things, including what's to come for the podcast with Mitch's departure from AgriNovus. Hint: we aren't going anywhere! We get into:

Updates to what you can expect to hear and see on the podcast moving forward!
What's going on with the CEO search -- and how you can apply to be our next fearless leader
Velocity Demo Day, the three winners and our power outage networking party; watch our Directionally Speaking video series here
Field Atlas Company Tours are coming 8/14-8/15 at Corteva and Ingredion; if you know a college student interested in learning more about agbioscience, have them apply by 7/13! Register here.
Community of Practice webinar on AI in Agriculture coming on 7/23; Register here.
Quadrant is back on 8/20 and we are talking leadership in action! Register here.

372. Mitch Frazier on 5 years of AgriNovus, the power of a small team + an Agbioscience farewell Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

For over 230 episodes of Agbioscience, Mitch Frazier has helped share the stories of leaders and innovators across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and agriculture. One story we’ve not told, though, is that of the storyteller, himself. Today we close a chapter on this podcast and with all love, turn our pages forward to what lies next. But make no mistake, this is not a chapter we will soon forget. For his final time on Agbioscience, Mitch Frazier joins us. We get into:

A look back at the last five years of agbioscience innovation
Mitch’s vision as a leader and why he chose growth as a focus for AgriNovus
The importance of creating the conditions for industry to grow
Seizing the opportunity – and which of those opportunities agbioscience should be looking to in the years to come
The power of a small team to drive outcomes
His favorite part about hosting more than 230 episodes of the podcast
Learning from some of Indiana’s best and bright leaders while in agbioscience – and what lessons he plans to take with him
His favorite down to business – and unserious – moments at AgriNovus
Mitch’s personal signoff on Agbioscience

371. Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing’s Jason Kashman on emerging trends in food + getting ahead of market demands Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the food ag industry contributes roughly 1.5 trillion to the country’s GDP – that's a 5.5% share. It’s a market that continues to evolve as many factors – from consumers to regulatory challenges – create new opportunities for innovation and new products. This week we are joined by Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing CEO, Jason Kashman, to share perspective on food, health and what’s ahead. We dive into:

The overall landscape in the food manufacturing market, what Jason is seeing and what’s driving growth for brands
Popcorn is a commodity and a finished good – are the challenges and turbulence the same on both sides of the coin?
Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing’s history, how it became its own entity in 2019 and their overall innovation portfolio
The massive footprint that is Weaver Popcorn – from grocery brands to private label
Jason’s take on emerging trends on snack foods and where popcorn fits in the market
How food has changed over the last decade, including difficulty for startup innovation to grow in the space, better for you ingredients and automation on the manufacturing side
The supply chain lessons learned from COVID and how companies have maybe pivoted to vertical integration to eliminate uncertainty
If and how the regulatory challenges are affecting Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing’s business
What’s next for the company

370. Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine’s Dr. Bret Marsh on building innovators of the future + their insurmountable opportunities Jun 16, 2025

Show notes

The USDA just reported that there are 243 veterinary shortage areas across 46 states nationwide – the highest number ever. It’s a challenging environment, particularly when you consider veterinarians are on the front lines of battling avian influenza and dealing with a massively growing companion animal population. Dr. Bret Marsh, Dean of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, joins this week to help understand the evolution that’s happening in this space and how this gap is being tackled. We get into:

What he’s hearing from veterinarians in the field and those he works alongside on research
How his past experience as Indiana’s State Veterinarian and now the Dean at Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine has shaped a unique perspective on where this segment of the agbioscience industry needs to evolve
Balancing the need for veterinarians in the field with a deep need to continue innovation at Purdue University – and the need for veterinarians to do that, too
The latest updates of what’s happening at the Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital
Areas that have Bret most intrigued right now – from avian influenza vaccines to OneHealth
His optimism for the incoming class of veterinary students at Purdue and their insurmountable opportunities
The top challenges that will need to be overcome in the industry in the coming years
What’s on the horizon for Purdue’s College of Veterinary Science

369. Nuritas’ Dr. Nora Khaldi on the power of peptides + harnessing science change the health of people + longevity Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

The global functional food ingredients market is expected to grow by $53 billion by 2028 according to Technavio. One pioneer, a scientist, is operating at the intersection of food and health and has become a functional food powerhouse. Dr. Nora Khaldi, CEO and Founder of Nuritas, joins us to talk ingredients, food and innovation. We get into:

What big companies are looking for right now when it comes to ingredient formulation, specifically around functional foods
What a peptide is, and how it works
Nuritas’ need product launch, PeptiSleep, and its ability to improve all four phases of sleep
How Nora’s conversations go with big food brands when they understand the power of peptides
The moments where she understood her own differentiation as an innovator
Data’s value and the duration it takes to accrue it – and AI as a tool to fuel the system
What’s ahead for Nuritas

368. Verility’s Liane Hart on leveraging AI to manage animal fertility + stabilize growing demand for protein Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

There are roughly 86 million head of cattle and 74 million head of hogs in the US. That’s according to USDA – those numbers flat year over year in a market where the demand for animal protein is expected to be up 5% by 2033. It’s a math equation that creates a challenge but also creates an opportunity for innovation. Liane Hart, co-founder and CEO, of Verility joins us to talk animal health. She gets into:

The overall animal health market from both the veterinarian and producer perspective
Animal fertility challenges and how Verility seeks to innovate in this area
How farmers and ranchers currently manage a lack of fertility in production agriculture
Verility’s platform, Fertile-Eyez, the first true AI fertility device in the animal health industry and its ability to remove all subjectivity of sperm analysis and ovulation detection
How artificial intelligence is being leveraged to create accuracy and profitability for the producer
Liane’s leap from Purdue student to Elanco employee to entrepreneur – including a stop to observe a technology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Lessons she’s learned as an entrepreneur along the way and advice she’d share with those who might have an innovative idea in agbioscience
What’s ahead for Verility

367. Mitch Frazier recaps May, talks Liberation Labs + Vivici, Velocity $75K Demo Day + Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Indiana May 29, 2025

Show notes

As Indiana's famous Month of May comes to a close, Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap big news for Mark Warner and LIberation Labs, look ahead to exciting new for AgriNovus' Velocity Demo Day and Indiana's hosting of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress next week. Mitch and Cayla also look ahead to his next career journey and talk about what's next for the podcast:

Mark Warner talks Vivici partnership on the podcast: https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/50e60709
Velocity Demo Day is coming on 6/18. Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/velocity/
The Global Entrepreneurship Congress kicks off in Indianapolis next week! Agbioscience listeners can use the code ECOSYSTEM50

366. The Ugly Company’s Ben Moore on tackling food waste, innovating for consumer health + leading to serve May 26, 2025

Show notes

The USDA estimates that between 30-40% of the US food supply is wasted every year – that’s over 133 BILLION pounds. One farmer, turned soldier, turned entrepreneur is tackling that market. Ben Moore, founder of The Ugly Company, joins us to talk to fruit. We get into:

Ben’s connection to Indiana and how a farmer went on to create a trucking company that became The Ugly Company as it is today
How damaged fruit with scars or other cosmetic issues because big business for Ben – The Ugly Company can now be found on store shelves of Target, Sam’s Club, Walmart and Whole Foods
The Ugly Company’s goal to prevent food waste, where they are at in that target and how they hope to accelerate that goal in the future
How the fruit becomes the product on shelves – The Ugly Process, if you will
Ben’s advice for aspiring farmers, business owners and entrepreneurs and lessons he’s learned from leading his business and his time serving in the US Army
What service looks like to him versus what it maybe looked like as a 22-year-old soldier
What’s ahead for The Ugly Company – including further distribution and availability in schools

365. Liberation Labs’ Mark Warner on precision fermentation for food + beverage, the Vivici partnership + biomanufacturing’s future May 19, 2025

Show notes

Global Market Insights predicts the precision fermentation market for food and beverage will grow from just about two billion in 2024 to 70 billion globally by 2034. That’s a staggering combined annual growth rate of nearly 40%. Liberation Labs is pioneering a new approach to precision fermentation at scale that borrows a page from the pharmaceutical industries playbook. Co-founder and CEO, Mark Warner, joins us to get into:

What exactly is precision fermentation?
The challenge facing companies, particularly early-stage innovators, that Liberation Labs saw an opportunity to solve for with contract precision fermentation
The company’s recent announcement of its first customer for the Indiana facility, Vivici, what they will do for them and what’s exciting about the partnership
How Mark saw an opportunity in the pharmaceutical space that could be replicated in fermentation for agbioscience innovation
Mark’s journey to fundraise for Liberation Labs
Reflecting on the decision to put their facility in Indiana for access to talent, corn and transportation
The biggest opportunities for growth – not just for Liberation Labs – but for precision fermentation as an industry
Biomanufacturing’s importance to economic growth, but in urban and rural America
What’s ahead for Liberation Labs

364. Croft’s Scott Prince on the ag labor market, H-2A's administrative hurdles + innovating a streamlined solution for the farmer May 12, 2025

Show notes

The U.S. Economic Policy Institute estimates there are 2.4 million ag jobs in the United States and Purdue University believes that 40% of ag jobs – new jobs – go unfilled. One entrepreneur is turning to the power of digital to transform ag labor. Scott Prince, CEO of Croft, gives us perspective on the current labor market and what he’s solving for using agtech. We get into:

The complexity and challenges of the ag labor market – from seasonality to workforce shortages
How the Department of Labor’s H-2A program is designed to help farmers overcome labor challenges, but the administrative hurdles they face in the process
What the process looks like for farmers to participate in the H-2A program and why Croft was developed as a streamlined solution
Identifying this as a critical need to automate for the farmer
What Scott is hearing from customers using the platform
What’s ahead for Croft – hint: it includes expanding their analytical intensity capacity

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